A beautiful young woman, carrying in her arms an infant gorgeously dressed, was mounted on an ass.

Then she moved with a procession from the cathedral to the church of St.Etienne.The procession marched into the choir, while the girl, still riding the ass, took a position in front of the altar.

Then the mass was celebrated, and at the end of each part the words "Hin han" were chanted in imitation of the braying of the beast.

The officiating priest, instead of chanting the "Ite missa est," invited the congregation to join in imitating the bray.
This simple procession in time developed into a much more pretentious liturgical drama called "The Prophets of Christ." But this appearance in the open streets was doubtless the beginning of the custom of enacting sacred plays in the public squares of cities and small towns.

The fete of the ass dates from the eleventh century, and we shall see that open-air performances of religious dramas took place in the twelfth, if no sooner.
Other significant elements of the fete of the ass and similar ceremonials were the singing of choruses by the populace and dancing.